COMPLICATIONS:Enemy: Baron Mordo, Dormammu, The Skinwalker.Guilt: He feels guilt over his usage of dark magics that cost him his title before and for several other decisions he has made in his life.Power Loss: He needs to be able to speak and gesture to cast his spells.Responsibility: Sorcerer Supreme.Rivalry: The Merlin and some other members of the White Council.

Comments: I’ve been getting the new Defenders book out of respect for the old Defenders that I use to love (especially when the lineup was Valkyrie, Hulk, Strange, Nighthawk and Cage) and Doctor Strange is the breakout character for sure. With his loss of the Sorcerer Supreme title, he’s being written as pretty much having a mid-life crisis; sleeping with younger women, living off his rep a bit, knowing what he needs to do, but wondering about why he is…it’s great. Especially to those of us who are reaching that stage ourselves.

Even without the Eye of Agamotto, the Cloak of Levitation and his full powers, he’s still a pretty scary customer because of his years of experience and magical knowledge which is still second to none. He’s just not a gamebreaker anymore, but if need be, he can pull something nasty out of the Book of the Vishanti since he still has access to that, it’s just not going to be quick.

I’m trying to figure out his team role in my setting. I kinda want to have him with his own Defenders, but I kinda want him with Stormwatch, too. I’ll figure out in the near future.

And then change my mind.

And then change it again.

'Cause that's how I roll, baby!

Secret Origins: At a young age, Stephen Strange had dreams of becoming a doctor. The eldest child of three, Strange was born while his parents Eugene and Beverly Strange were on vacation in Philadelphia. At the age of eleven he aided his younger sister Donna when she was injured, which proved to be a formative experience for him, and he was inspired to attend medical school after high school. Ironically, it was his inability to later save her from drowning when he was nineteen and on leave from college that undermined his belief in life’s meaning and the value of idealism. Nevertheless, he rapidly finished med school at a young age and became a successful neurosurgeon.

Strange displayed phenomenal talent in his chosen field, and quickly attained wealth and notoriety. The more successful he became, the more arrogant he grew. Eventually this led to estrangement from his family and the undoing of his relationship with a United Nations translator named Madeline Revell to whom he had proposed marriage. So distant and self-absorbed did he become that he refused to visit his father on his deathbed. His enraged younger brother Victor Strange berated him for this, and then was killed as he ran into traffic. Stephen then placed the body of his brother into cryogenic storage.

A car accident that damaged the nerves in his hands changed everything for Stephen Strange. He was no longer able to be a surgeon, yet he refused to become an assistant or consultant, instead squandering his money travelling the world and searching for a cure. One day he heard a rumor of a mystical personage known as the Ancient One in Tibet. Marshaling the last of his inner and outer resources, Strange diligently searched until the fortress of the Ancient One was revealed to him. Though initially outraged that the aged mystic refused to cure his hands, Strange’s anger was quickly replaced by amazement when the reality of magical forces was demonstrated before his eyes as he witnessed an attack on the Ancient One.

Circumstances revealed to Strange that it was none other than Baron Mordo, the Ancient One’s chief disciple, who was the perpetrator of the attack, and who continued to plot the destruction of the antediluvian mystic in an attempt to gain power. To his horror, Strange learned he was unable to reveal this after Mordo easily ensorcelled him. Realizing the Ancient One was a force for good; Stephen selflessly abandoned his quest to restore his hands and committed himself to magical tutelage with the intention of foiling Mordo’s insidious scheme. By this act Strange proved himself to the Ancient One, to whom the entire melodrama had been transparent. Thus Doctor Strange put himself on the path to become the new Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth dimension, yet gained a deadly enemy in Baron Mordo.

The Story so Far: After many years of training, Strange returned to New York. He became a mystical consultant and started having interactions with the superhero community. After the Fantastic Four formed and many superheroes began to surface, Doctor Strange found a friend in Spider-Man. Spider-Man helped him rescue a group of people from another dimension and suggested that Strange remove from their memory this traumatic experience, though this meant that they would forget his own heroism. Initially tricked into conflict with each other by Loki, Thor and Doctor Strange also formed an early alliance to combat the god of mischief.

Noteworthy among the good Doctor’s numerous foes over the years as Earth’s magical guardian were the Dread Dormammu, Shuma-Gorath, the Undying Ones, and Nightmare. Strange’s first battle with Dormammu ensued when the powerful demigod of the Dark Dimension attempted to invade earth’s plane as he perceived the wane of the Ancient One’s might. Strange was forced to duel Dormammu in the Dark Dimension, and though vastly out-powered by the god-like entity, Strange was able to tax Dormammu to the extent that the barrier separating beings known as the Mindless Ones from the rest of the Dark Dimension became compromised. A force of pure destruction, the Mindless Ones would have meant annihilation to the other denizens of Dormmamu’s realm, and Strange nobly contributed his power to his enemy to prevent their being unleashed.

Bound by whatever strange honor as applies to his daemonic ilk, Dormammu then called off his invasion and released Strange. They were to clash many times subsequently, however, and Dormammu has been one of Strange’s most implacable and powerful foes. It was during this adventure that Doctor Strange also met Clea, a beautiful but inexperienced mystic and the daughter of Umar, Dormmamu’s sister, who became Strange’s first apprentice, as well as his lover.

In one of his more bizarre adventures, Strange fought the demonic forces of Shuma-Gorath, an ancient Lovecraftian entity that coveted earth’s domination from the world’s distant past and this time threatened our reality using the very mind of Doctor Strange’s beloved mentor, the Ancient One. Though it agonized him, Strange was left with no choice but to obey his teacher and slay him to prevent the holocaust Shuma-Gorath would have unleashed upon the world. The Ancient One then ascended to become one with the being known as Eternity, while Strange inherited the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.

Dr. Strange has remained a mainstay of the superhero community, forming The Defenders, which he leads a new incarnation of currently, and also spending time with The Avengers and Stormwatch.

Characterization: Doctor Strange is one of the most respected members of the superheroic and mystical community. His arrogance still rears its head from time to time and he still has some self-destructive tendencies but overall, he remains the top mystical mind in the Thorpacoverse.

Friends and Foes: Doctor Strange has many allies in the superhero community due to his time in the Defenders, the Avengers and his supernatural consultantion for dozens of heroes. He also has a complicated, but currently solid relationship with the White Council of Wizards who allow him to work outside of the Seven Laws due to his status as Sorceror Supreme. He is also good friends with Kent Nelson, Doctor Fate, as the two have joined forces many times to protect the Earth from powerful supernatural threats.

His greatest foe is Dormammu, and he has also had a long rivalry with Baron Mordo. Because of his work, he has encountered and incurred enemies all over the Earth and beyond.

Clean Up 11/10/13: Well, Doc is back to being Sorceror Supreme again, so I figured I needed to add that version and keep his non-sorceror supreme version for posterity.

Our struggles of late. I have had to call upon darker forces than I would normally use….Forces I thought I could control, but I can’t. It was arrogance. The same arrogance that led me down the path I’m on in the first place. My hands are useless again. And I tried to disguise it. All these years, and I have learned nothing. There’s—I’ve had no time to deal with what I’ve done, and the forces are overpowering me. I wanted to help you, my friends. I wanted so much to help my old friend Bruce Banner. But I failed. And I have failed at my task as Sorcerer Supreme of this dimension. I—I don’t think I can help you anymore. I need to atone for what I have done. I need to relearn all that I have lost. And put back magics which I had no business using in the first place. I can’t help you anymore. You need to leave here. We all do. I’m so sorry, my friends... - Stephen Strange

COMPLICATIONS:Enemy: Baron Mordo, Dormammu, The SkinwalkerGuilt: He feels great guilt over his usage of dark magics during the end of his time as Sorcerer SupremePower Loss: He cannot cast his spells if he cannot speak and/or gestureResponsibility: To continue to defend the mortal world from mystic threats and to find, protect and train the next Sorcerer SupremeRivalry: Zatanna

catsi563 wrote:yeah brother Voodoo was chosen and became Doctor Voodoo but he sacraficed himself stopping Agomotto from taking back the eye, and Stephen had to re take the mantle.

I don't think he officially re-took the mantle. He doesn't have the Eye anymore and he doesn't use the cloak, nor can he use a lot of his old spells because of the damage to his hands caused by Green Scar Hulk. I think they've just held off on a new search for a replacement because of other arcs. I'm sure it will come back up either with a return of Doctor Voodoo or another mystical crossover, like Dormammu coming back or another big thing.

COMPLICATIONS:Disability: In his current condition, he cannot support his giant head without his exoskeleton/floating chair and if it is removed, he cannot moveMotivation: World dominationRivalry: Other smart guys, although he will work with others he deems on his level if it meets his ends

Build Comments: MODOK is a wonderfully silly Silver Age Marvel Villain that always makes me smile when he shows up. I mean, come on, a big, giant head that has to float around on a hover chair/exoskeleton thing that leads a bunch of guys dressed like evil beekeepers? How can you not love that?!?!?!

He is someone who blurs that line between jobbers and threats, IMHO. He’s been beaten by the best, but occasionally he puts up enough of a showing that teams like The Avengers have to take him seriously. At least for a little while until they put him down again.

Secret Origins: George Tarleton was a technician for the organization Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM). Having recently created the artifact the Cosmic Cube, the AIM scientists used advanced mutagenics to alter Tarleton and create the super intelligent MODOC (acronym for Mental Organism Designed Only for Computing) to study and improve the object.

MODOC, however, becomes ambitious and kills its former masters and takes control of AIM. Calling itself MODOK (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing), it comes into conflict with the hero Captain America, who was able to thwart MODOKs plan and destroy the Cosmic Cube.

The Story so Far: MODOK has led A.I.M. off and on for many years and has been a foe of several heroes and superteams including Captain America, Iron Man, Batman, Mister Terrific, The Avengers and The Justice League.

He is currently the leader of a new High Council of A.I.M.

Characterization: MODOK is…MODOK. He’s a super genius with a giant head that leads an international cell of scientific geniuses that want to take over the world.

Friends and Foes: He has currently reconciled with Monica Rappaccini, who is the current Scientist Supreme of A.I.M.

Last edited by Thorpacolypse on Sun Feb 23, 2014 8:02 am, edited 2 times in total.

Comments: Monica Rappaccini is a fairly minor Marvel villain who has popped back up, siding with Osborn as the current A.I.M. Scientist Supreme. She’s generally been a Hulk and Pym villain and she’s shown herself to have some good firepower at her disposal in those situations, so I gave her something I’ve rarely given out in 3E, but used to all the time in 2E, Gadgets. She said she had like 157 different ways of dealing with Pym at her disposal, so I figured she deserved it.

Secret Origins: A promising biochemistry student at the University of Padua, Monica heard of the work of another physicist named Bruce Banner and sought him out. She met him in New Mexico and struck up a relationship which she used to steal as many secrets from him as she could. She would use this knowledge to win the Nobel Prize for her work in antitoxins.

The Story so Far: She became disillusioned with the ways of the west and decided that instead of working to heal people, she would concentrate on killing them. Her work on stopping toxins also made her the leading mind on the causation of poisons and stopping of antibodies, thus she implanted several children including her own daughter Carmilla Black, the second to take the mantle of Scorpion.

When M.O.D.O.K. killed a scientist supreme, Monica assumed his position, and became leader of a cell away from M.O.D.O.K.'s control. She's made several attempts to seize power and enhance the size of her A.I.M. cell, but each time she was stopped, first by her own daughter and secondly through a betrayal by her old lover M.O.D.O.K. Eventually she and M.O.D.O.K came to an agreement where she was be the Scientist Supreme while he would lead a new High Council of A.I.M.

Characterization: A biochemical genius, Monica is one of the world's foremost authorities on organic toxins. Her inventions include the enhanced lymphatic system of the A.I.M. waker agents that granted them total immunity to all biological, chemical and radiological weapons; memetic antibodies, synthetic microbes that attack the human psyche and trigger pre-coded memories and impulses; hallucinogenic drugs that deliver programmed hallucinations before being absorbed into the system; and many innovative weapons of mass destruction, from gas attacks to nanobacteria bombs. Monica's first invention was an electric knife to help her mother slice ham; she never got over losing the science fair to a tomato sauce-spouting volcano model and it’s widely believed that incident set on her the path to villainy.

Friends and Foes: She is currently the Scientist Supreme of A.I.M. under M.O.D.O.K. Despite her daughter’s betrayal, she still wants to bring her to her way of thinking. She also has a great rivalry with Hank Pym.

Last edited by Thorpacolypse on Sun Feb 23, 2014 8:03 am, edited 3 times in total.

Comments: Some of my favorite all time minions, AIM’s “Evil Beekeepers”. They're smarter than the average minion, but just as easy to mow down.

Secret Origins: A.I.M. is an organization of brilliant scientists and their hirelings dedicated to the acquisition of power and the overthrow of all world governments by technological means. A.I.M.'s origins began late in World War II with Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's creation of his subversive organization HYDRA. Under the code name of T.H.E.M., he created two HYDRA branches called Advanced Idea Mechanics and Secret Empire. A.I.M.'s purpose was to develop advanced weaponry for HYDRA. They were close to developing and attaining nuclear weapons when HYDRA Island was invaded by American and Japanese troops. Although HYDRA suffered a major setback, it survived and grew in secret over the following decades.

A.I.M.’s leadership has traditionally consisted of the seven-member Board of Directors (formerly known as the Imperial Council) with a rotating chairperson. Under the Directors are various division supervisors, and under them are the technicians and salesmen/dealers. The organization supplies arms and technology to various terrorist and subversive organizations both to foster a violent technological revolution and to make a profit. A.I.M. operatives are usually involved in research, development, manufacturing, and sales of high technology. Members of A.I.M. are required to at least have a Master's degree, if not a Ph.D, in some area of science, mathematics, or business.

A.I.M.'s reach is worldwide, including various front organizations such as Targo Corporation, International Data Integration and Control, and Cadenza Industries. A.I.M. has had a number of bases of operations, including a nuclear submarine mobile in the Atlantic Ocean; a base in the Bronx, New York; Black Mesa, Colorado; West Caldwell, New Jersey; Asia, Canada, Europe, Haiti, India, Sudan and Boca Caliente (also known as AIM Island), an island republic in the Caribbean.

Over time, some AIM splinter cells have appeared such as Advanced Ideas in Destruction (AID), Radically Advanced Ideas in Destruction' (RAID), and Advanced Genocide Mechanics (AGM).

More recently, A.I.M. went seemingly legitimate, creating an internationally-recognized government on Barbuda, now known was the A.I.M. Island. They are a publicly traded stock company and have field for sovereign nation status for A.I.M. Island. However, this was a public front as they continue their nefarious activities undercover.

Last edited by Thorpacolypse on Sun Feb 23, 2014 8:04 am, edited 2 times in total.

Comments: Tao, the Tactically Augmented Organization, is a scary Wildstorm villain. His powers are pretty undefined but basically he is the ultimate manipulator, being able to determine a person’s weaknesses within seconds and being able to basically control their logic just by talking to them. I used Mind Control to simulate that and I think it works fine.

He starts off like that, but eventually by World's End, he figures out how to steal Void's and I believe her counterpart Providence's, powers and becomes pretty much godlike, being able to take on all the Wildcats and Authority and several other Wildstorm heroes at one time and beat them. So that PL15 is probably low for his most recent incarnation but we will see if he pops up in DC proper soon and how he's portrayed. He's fun as hell to read about I'm sure he's equally hell to write.

I replaced my PC Superman with this TAO build. I plan on replacing all my PC and Thorpacoverse specific builds with new builds over the next few weeks to gain the balance I would like in my separate threads. It'll be a lot of work, but I think the cleaner threads will work better for me.

Until I change my mind again and dump everything back at J-Mart again.

Love TAO. I really hope he becomes part of the main continuity soon. Or maybe he already is and we don't know it yet...it's quite possible. He's probably manipulating all the DC heroes behind the scenes and they have no clue. That's how he works...

COMPLICATIONS:Enemy: His arch nemesis is Darius DaxFame: As the world's greatest superhero in the 60's, Supreme is well known across the worldHonor: Supreme has the values of an early America and always conducts himself with the highest morals, even to his detrimentMan out of Time: Having left Earth in 1968 and returned only recently, he sometimes be out of touch with the modern worldMental Instability: His mind-wipe at the hands of Jack O'Lantern leaves him with memory gaps and flashbacks to events he cannot initially recallMotivation: Justice and protecting the worldRelationships: He is close to his adopted sister, Suprema, his dog Radar and his long time love Dana DaneRivalry: He has a friendly rivalry with the other top paragons, Superman, Omn-Man, Captain Dynamo, The High and The SamaritanVulnerable: Supreme is vulnerable to White Supremium, and can be affected in other ways by other colors of Supremium much like Kryptonians are affected by Kryptonite

Comments: Supreme is a Superman analogue from Image that was created by the much-maligned Rob Liefeld. He wasn’t originally meant to be more than a cameo character but he got so much love, they kept him around and Alan Moore took over and wrote his usual super dense version of the character that has become a classic. I read that Moore really took him Silver Age and made him a very pure character as pretty much an apology for ushering in the Iron Age with Watchmen and his deconstruction of the superhero genre. Pretty cool.

Supreme is pretty much Silver Age Superman, although I kept him at DCA Superman levels. However, I gave him Eidetic Memory, Beginner’s Luck and Jack-of-All-Trades to allow him to do pretty much anything he wants skill-wise and I made him Supremely Intelligent so that he could invent whatever he wanted, too. He’s definitely an NPC, but one that could scare the crap of any Iron Agey heroes your players would want to come up with or be a beacon for those pure at heart.

COMPLICATIONS:Enemy: The DaemonitesRelationships: His daughter Jodi, who also goes by Backlash or JetWorld Weary: Marc has been on Earth for thousands of years and sometimes he gets tired of the fight and his endless existence

Comments: Marc Slayton is a long time Wildstorm-verse hero known as Backlash, a Kherubim hybrid who can form psionic whips from his hands to strike and bind with. He can also turn into a mist form, which allows him to heal, but he can only use it sparingly now. I haven’t read much stuff with him in it yet, but from what I could tell, he’s a very acrobatic fighter and since he’s been around for thousands of years, he can do a lot of stuff so he gets Jack-of-all-trades and Beginner’s Luck to cover that.

Comments: Delroy Garrett is the 3rd 3D-Man. He was originally Triathlon, a pretty much failed “diversity Avenger” who fell into obscurity until the Secret Invasion when he was given the 3D Man goggles which allowed him to see the Skrulls, even in their enhanced disguises, which was quite valuable to the Initiative. He hasn’t been seen much since and probably won’t because he’s not a great character, but he’s turned OK.

He was going to be part of the MANUARY special, but I ran out of time with move and all so I've had him done for a while, just hadn't posted him.